I've had Paintshop Pro for years, but my old desktop finally cratered and I can't find the CD. Looking for the best free Photoshop alternative. I know Gimp used to be popular. What others are out there?

I've always used GIMP. Honestly, AI is getting close to completely supplanting programs like this other than hobbyists.

Paint.net is one, but I still use Paint Shop Pro X (version 10), which is really old, but I know where everything is.

You can buy the new PSP for like $25-40 if you look around, maybe cheaper.

I bought it on sale for peanuts a year or two back, but still use 10 cause I know where all the tools are.

The best Photoshop alternative is still Photoshop. The CS2 version was the last non-subscription version and was offered for free briefly in 2013 and can still be found floating around the internet.

For a basic user these 2 are pretty easy to use and free-ish.

https://new.express.adobe.com/

https://www.canva.com/

MonkeyKnifeFighter said:

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I think CS6 was the last non-subscription version of Photoshop, though it's impossible to legally find an unused CD or license number these days. I'm still running CS6 on two of my multimedia CPU's. There are a few quirks where you can tell it wasn't written for 64-bit OS's. The one that kills me is the brush size is scaled differently than how it looks on the curser. Haven't found a work-around for that and I've just coped for years.

Still does everything as good as my machines running PS CC (for my needs).

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I was incorrect. I think CS2 may have been the last not to use cloud validation of the user's license. Could be wrong still but CS2 product ID and license numbers are available.

I use Photopea
https://www.photopea.com

Its a free on line photo editor, similar to GIMP I believe.

I have a full adobe suite subscription, but as little as I use it, it's getting hard to justify the expense. I absolutely hate subscription only models and adobe has always been arrogant. $20 per month just for acrobat is beyond ridiculous when compared to something like Office 365.

What do you actually need to do?

There's a huge area between simple color correction and adding aliens onto your front lawn, both of which can be done in photoshop but only one of which actually requires photoshop.

Source: I've been a designer for 20+ years

I have become familiar with Paint.NET over the years and that's mostly what I use but the retail prices for older versions of Adobe and Microsoft licenses have collapsed. Photoshop 2021 is $16.47. I have bought two Acrobat licenses from MM3 Digital and they installed and authenticated with no problems.

https://mm3digital.com/product/adobe-photoshop-2021-full-version-product/

Yeah…Photoshop 2021 for purchase is not a thing. Adobe has been on subscription plans since like 2013.

fig96 said:

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What do you actually need to do?

There's a huge area between simple color correction and adding aliens onto your front lawn, both of which can be done in photoshop but only one of which actually requires photoshop.

Source: I've been a designer for 20+ years

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I want to add aliens to the front yard.

But seriously...I use Photoscape for general manipulating of photos and it works well. Mainly was just using my Paintshop Pro for background removal. That's the one function I'm missing.

+1 for photopea

Gimp

Aliens are always good.

As someone with extensive Photoshop experience, the thing I've found that comes closest for a very reasonable one time price is Affinity Photo. It's really capable with some awesome features and totally worth a couple bucks.

PS Elements is not a subscription service and will do about 90% of what the full version of PS will do.

Not anywhere near 90%, but probably enough for a lot of people.

That said, Affinity is 10 bucks more and much more fully featured. Elements appears to be a 3 year license per their website.

I'm not a PS/creative pro by any stretch, but I have all the Affinity (Mac) apps and they all pretty much meet my needs. I've designed what others consider pro level graphics and done some decent PS work on my own images.

Anyway, it is my skill level that would hold me back and not the software. I think there are some differences between the Affinity apps and the Adobe ones, but the missing features probably aren't needed by most.

fig96 said:

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Not anywhere near 90%, but probably enough for a lot of people.

That said, Affinity is 10 bucks more and much more fully featured. Elements appears to be a 3 year license per their website.

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Those *******s!!!!

Is there a good alternative to PS Elements Premier for video editing?

I moved from Windows to Mac and I should have transferred my existing Elements to the Mac but did not and now not sure if I can since it's several years old.

agracer said:

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fig96 said:

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Not anywhere near 90%, but probably enough for a lot of people.

That said, Affinity is 10 bucks more and much more fully featured. Elements appears to be a 3 year license per their website.

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Those *******s!!!!

Is there a good alternative to PS Elements Premier for video editing?

I moved from Windows to Mac and I should have transferred my existing Elements to the Mac but did not and now not sure if I can since it's several years old.

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Black Magic's DaVinci Resolve is freeware and awesome for video.

Was gonna recommend Da Vinci as well, bit of a learning curve but super capable program.